The Fender 1000 Rebuild

[Nathan Hofer]

Hello all,

So I recently posted about the Fender 1000 I acquired. I think it is a mid-60s, its got the black cast pedals and jaguar-style pickups. Anyway, I've got the thing completely torn down to is basic elements because it was totally disgusting. Everything was pretty gummed up and dark brown colored. I am in the process of cleaning, polishing, and putting things back together now and thought I would post pictures as I go. Also, I've got a few questions for those in the know.

First, the pedal rods do not connect to the pedals with a quick connect. Rather, there is a double threaded sleeve that screws onto the bolt in the pedal on one end and the pedal rod on the other. I've not seen one like this. Does anyone know if this system was standard at some point? Or is this some kind of rigged up job? It is very easy to adjust pedal height with this sleeve, but obviously takes a while to break down as you have to unthread each pedal from the sleeve. Here are a few pictures. The first is the pedal bolt system and the connector. The second are with the connectors threaded onto the pedal rods. Thoughts?

[Nathan Hofer]

While I am here, I might as well ask my second question. Here is a picture of the pedal board. You can see it is pretty thrashed in terms of the paint. I do not want to refinish it because I like the lived-in look. But I would like to protect the finish from flaking off more than it already has. Just bumping into it will knock a few flakes off. Do you think I could just spray a coat of clear lacquer onto it and then fine sand it to a gloss? I just need something that will protect it from flaking any more. Or would I be better off just leaving it alone?

[Ian Stynes]

Pretty sure those are rigged pedal connectors. You could always undo the nut when tearing down instead of removing it from the sleeve , no? Would probably be quicker.
-Ian

[Nathan Hofer]

Thanks Ian,

Yeah, I was reasonably sure that those were home-made jobs. Eventually I would like to try and find some original connectors, but these will work for now...

thanks again!

Nate

[Ian Stynes]

I had a Fender 400. The original connectors are pretty hard to find for those old fenders. What you have now seems sturdy though. If you ever do see an original set I would jump on them quickly.

Good luck!

-Ian

[Dave Zirbel]

I have a pedal rack from a 1000 and my connecters look the same as pictured above. Maybe they were a transitional design. I have a 2000 that has the quick connecters.

[Nathan Hofer]

Hmmm, fascinating. Thanks Dave! That's very helpful. Mine is supposedly a 1964, although I am not sure how the guy I bought it from got that year, there is nothing under the tuning pans. As far as I understand, 1963/4 was a transitional year, no? So that might make sense of the odd pedal connectors.

[Nathan Hofer]

I've really appreciated the replies so far; thanks to all! I'm still wondering what to do about the paint flaking problem. Anyone want to weigh in on a safe way to protect it from further flaking? Has anyone ever tried putting a clear coat over an old paint job to protect it?

Here's another picture for you, this time of the situation up top, right before I removed the changers and plates. Again, I actually like the crackling look (is that what you call it?) and do not want to refinish it. I just don't want to lose any more of that crackling finish, know what I mean?

And yes, I know I am missing the bottom half of both tone and volume knobs. Anyone got any extras? Ha!

[Donny Hinson]

I'd either refinish it, or leave it alone. The original tall knobs, as well as the bridge covers, are usually expensive to replace - if you can even find them. One more reason I recommend people take missing parts into consideration whenever buying these guitars.

[Nathan Hofer]

Thanks Donny,

I've got the bridge covers but not the knobs. I got the thing for a good price, so no complaints from me and I love working on it. I believe all I am missing are the tall knobs and two of the original hooks that connect the cables to the bell cranks, the other six are all there. The two missing hooks have been replaced with something similar that works, but is definitely a homemade remedy. But I think that all in all I got a pretty good deal on a guitar that sounds great and just needs cleaning.

But you are definitely correct about finding missing parts. I see some of the prices folks ask on ebay for a 400 with pedals but no cables or something similar and my brain explodes.

[Russ Blake]

I've had good results using Qualasole on similar flaking finishes. It's safe to assume that the original finish is nitro, so the Qualasole should seal the checking and help re-bond the lacquer while retaining much of the existing patina. Application is similar to french polishing, but quicker and easier. Of course, you should always start with a test in an inconspicuous place just to ensure compatibility!

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=17646

[Nathan Hofer]

Russ,

Thanks so much for the tip. I am going to give this a try; it looks perfect for what I want to do. Will post results when I can...

Nate

[Nathan Hofer]

A big thanks to Russ for recommending Qualasole. It did exactly what I was looking for. It covered the excessive checking of the original finish and totally fixed it in place. It still looks pretty much the same, but its got a nice hard semi-gloss protective layer on top. I also pulled each of the pedals completely apart, cleaned them, and lubed moving parts with tri-flow. Some day I may paint the pedals, but for now this is strictly a clean-up job. Those pedals were in sad shape; some of them were completely fused in place. But everything is working smoothly and beautifully now! A few boring pics here:












I am working on this thing in the little spare time I have and going from bottom to top. So now that the pedal board is done, the legs are in good shape, I am moving on to the cables. They desperately need a good cleaning. They are completely caked in wd-40, dirt, and smoke residue. Yikes.









Meanwhile, I've got the main pulley soaking in oil. All the individual pulley discs were completely stuck together with sticky wd40. This is taking a long time and is a lot of work but I am having sooooo much fun working on it!

[Nathan Hofer]

It's been a while since I had a chance to post an update. I've been extraordinarily busy and rarely get a chance to work on this. But I have made some progress recently.

Here is the 1000 completely stripped down except for the electronics:



I decided not to do anything to the finish up top. It's a bit ragged at the edges but overall in decent shape and not worth messing with so I cleaned it well and then polished it. But the frame was full of scrapes and gouges and scratches. So I did touch up the black painted frame, here:



Next up is a picture of all the hardware that I painstakingly cleaned up. I don't have a shop, so most of the work was done with household cleaners and steel wool at the kitchen sink. A real PIA, but worth it. I did not use steel wool on the chrome! I had read that using tinfoil and water was a good polish for lightly tarnished chrome. Lo and behold. It works!



Finally here are a few picture of the beginning of the rebuild. First a picture of the reinstalled bellcranks and main pulley. Second is the whole underside.





Whew! That's where I am at now. I have to say that putting those changers back together was a real headache. Trying to get the fingers threaded through the little loops on the stops and then through the plate. Sheesh. You need about four sets of tiny hands.

Just for fun, here is a before/after picture of those plates:



Hopefully I will finish setting this up in the next week or so. I am still playing around in my head with what tunings I will use. Right now I am thinking a simplified E9 on the back neck and then maybe something from the original manual on the front.

I would love to hear your thoughts on the progress so far though. I am getting very anxious to get this thing playing.

[Neil Harms]

Looks like this is coming along nicely! I've done two different 400s and a 2000. I love working on these Fenders. The pedal connectors you have are exactly the same as my first 400. The second one I got had the quick attach setup. They are factory original as far as I know. And kind of a pain when you want to tear it down for putting in the case.... Thumbs up for leaving the finish as-is. My brother has my first one and it was a true hardcore relic. I love it like that as the miles speak to me. You will love this guitar and you got a smokin deal on it!

[Nathan Hofer]

Thanks Neil!

I have really loved working on this. Other than the difficulty of getting the changer all back together, I find the cable system a real pleasure to work on.

I actually did a quick string up of the back neck last night and hooked up pedals 1-3. It worked! So easy to adjust and tune up, so easy to change everything around. And the sound ... it has the sound! I hope to post the final results this weekend. Stay tuned ...

[Jean-Sebastien Gauthier]

Hi Nathan Im planning on doing the same exact thing with my Fender 1000, I ordered the Qualasole and I will strip it down when I will have time to clean everything but Im now afraid of dissembled the changer, I guess I have no choice if I want to clean it.

Do you have used a special kind of black paint? Did there something you would have done differently if you would know or the project is going well?

Do you know Zoom-Spout?
http://www.amazon.com/ZOOM-SPOUT-ZS75A- ... B000HACY3Y
My teacher recommend this to oil the moving parts.

[jay thompson]

Nathan,
Go here to find pip pins, which will make for a quick disconnect for your pedals without reworking the pedals or pedal rods.
You can buy the size or, style you need and use the same hole in the pedal and pedeal rod without modification.
http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/i ... t+pip+pins

Regards, Jay Thompson